I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 31

Why isn’t she coming?

Stephanie, anxiously pacing in the garden, bit her lip. When Gerard suddenly said he would provide her with a companion, she was displeased.

‘A child companion, really.’

She had no intention of being waited on by a child younger than herself.

So, although she felt sorry for the child, she thought about sending them away as quickly as possible. If she gave the child an impossible task, they would surely quit.

That’s why she ordered the little one to cook as soon as she saw her. She thought they would try a bit and then admit they couldn’t do it.

But to her surprise, the little one Gerard had sent was a genius at household chores!

“Why are you sprinkling that powder? ”

“The composition of the powder is different from dust, so it removes stubborn stains.”

“The direction you’re moving the cloth isn’t straight? ”

“I’m using the force of wiping to avoid hurting my hands. ”

Doing tasks that even adults find difficult, the child cleaned the house spotlessly in just half a day.

Cleaning, laundry, and even cooking.

She was captivated by skills that deserved the title of the best maid. Then suddenly, she realized.

‘Isn’t this child abuse?’

What am I making a six-year-old do? They’re doing it too well, aren’t they?

But the child looked so proud of their work that she couldn’t bring herself to tell them to stop.

There was nothing to dislike about the little one.

When the young thing cried, not knowing what hardships they had been through, her heart ached. The child didn’t seem to know why they were crying.

“I don’t know anything. ”

“That’s right. You don’t know. But there are things you can understand even if you don’t know anything. ”

It’s good when children smile like children.

It was originally the role of adults to make children happy. So she abandoned her intention to send the child away and tried to make the little one happy.

Though it all led to major accidents.

“Ahhh! Fire! Little one, run away quickly! ”

“Leave it to me. You can put this out with mayonnaise. ”

“I was just trying to make an egg dish for the little one! Why did it catch fire? ”

As they spent more time together, she realized she was the one being saved.

Though she was trapped in the mansion, unable to meet her daughter, she wasn’t lonely thanks to the little one. If her daughter met the little maid, Sion, she would like her.

‘She might even want to make her a sister.’

In truth, she wanted to tell the child everything.

Little one, I’m actually here looking for my lost daughter. My daughter Juno is a very capable and smart child, like you.

She was about to tell the truth, but hesitated, fearing the child might face disadvantages. But the little one who had become so precious to her hadn’t appeared for over two weeks.

‘Did I ask for something unnecessary?’

The little one might have been mistreated by the Grand Duke because of me. All because I asked to deliver an apple pie and a message.

All she could do was badger Gerard when he came to the mansion.

“I told you to tell me honestly why the little one isn’t coming!”

At her words, Gerard scratched one cheek, appearing frustrated. No matter what troubled expression he made, her worries didn’t disappear.

Gerard asked in a voice mixed with a sigh.

“Why don’t you believe me when I say she is safe?”

“Do you even need to ask? It’s because of your face!”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

“The Grand Duke did that, right? Someone who lays hands on their close aide can’t be a good person!”

Gerard’s face, which used to be considered handsome, had changed to look like a swollen steamed bun. Though it was covered by clothes, his body didn’t look unscathed either.

‘What a violent Grand Duke.’

She disliked Gerard just as much for taking the side of such a person as his superior. Gerard boldly told a lie that wouldn’t convince anyone.

“This is from sparring.”

“Sparring with His Grace the Grand Duke, right?”

“Anyway, you’ll be able to see Si… Lady Sion again soon, and she is very healthy.”

Seemingly uncomfortable with the conversation that wasn’t getting through, Gerard left first. His limping, slow-walking figure looked uneasy.

Should I have been suspicious when that guy readily brought me to the mansion, saying he would let me see my daughter?

“Juno, where is my daughter?”

My precious daughter whom I couldn’t meet even in my dreams.

Over a decade ago, she had a relationship with the Emperor who had come out incognito, and became pregnant. The child was born with the power of the divine beast passed down in the imperial family.

The power of prophetic dreams that could foresee the future, at that.

‘This power is dangerous.’

It was a power that couldn’t attack others but was easily targeted by many. She had intended to hide her daughter from the world and raise her alone for life.

‘If only the child hadn’t disappeared.’

One day, her daughter, who had been preparing herbs in the yard, suddenly vanished. She spent agonizing time between hope and despair of meeting her.

Just when the meeting was finally within reach.

She was worried not only about her daughter but also about Sion, who had comforted her.

“I can’t stand it anymore.”

Gerard was greatly mistaken about her. She wasn’t staying because she lacked the confidence to leave, but because she was enduring.

“I’ll leave by force if I have to.”

She entered the storage room with various tools and took out an axe. As she was walking towards the door with the axe, something caught her foot.

When she picked it up, it was a freshly baked warm bread.

Not far from there, she found a bag that had contained the bread and red hair. This thin, pinkish hair belonged to Sion.

“Little one, are you there?”

There was a small rustling sound, and then a small figure rushed past her at lightning speed. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was Sion, the little one she had been looking for.

Behind the wide-open iron gate, there were small footprints of a child.

***

Why am I running away?

In my confused mind, the name Stephanie had just mentioned kept spinning around. The name I had longed for and sometimes resented not seeing.

‘She said my daughter Juno.’

With that one sentence, I could understand all the circumstances I had been suspicious of.

“So Stephanie was Juno’s mother.”

There had been evidence to guess Stephanie’s identity from before. Why didn’t I think of that possibility when I saw her appearance that looked exactly like Juno?

I had been blinding myself to the thought that it couldn’t be possible.

“What should I do?”

Gerard’s lie about gifted education was to make me meet Stephanie.

Gerard must have thought he was letting me meet my birth mother. He didn’t realize I wasn’t the princess even after seeing Stephanie who didn’t recognize me at all.

I felt bewildered, as if looking at a shirt with buttons fastened incorrectly without knowing.

‘I was a fool too.’

If only the original work had described Juno’s mother in detail, I would have noticed.

But in the original work, the description of Juno’s mother was just a few lines.

[Because the Grand Duke didn’t inform that he had saved the illegitimate princess, the birth mother didn’t know the princess was alive. While the Grand Duke prepared for rebellion using the princess, the birth mother worried about her lost daughter and died of grief.]

This time, too. I thought the Grand Duke wouldn’t tell the truth to the birth mother. No, actually, I was too concerned about my limited lifespan to think about Juno’s mother.

Would Stephanie forgive me if she found out I had taken Juno’s place?

‘Juno is already dead.’

I remembered Stephanie, full of expectation to meet her daughter. I didn’t want to see that face turn to despair because of me.

Why did things turn out like this?

“…Ugh.”

I suppressed a sudden surge of nausea. Then I heard Stephanie’s voice nearby.

“Little one, are you there?”

I couldn’t meet her now.

I ran past Stephanie towards the door with all my might. Countless moments I spent with her as a maid flashed through my mind.

You say you enjoy working, so don’t disturb you? Come on, what child enjoys working?>

“I do.”

“Don’t try to deceive an adult’s eyes. You must want to play with me very much now, right?”

“I can’t. I have to work.”

I had known from the start that she was a good person.

I was worried that she seemed unable to meet the person she wanted to see, and I hoped she would be happy. Even to the point of breaking Gerard’s request and delivering a message to the Grand Duke.

But all of that was just deception.

‘Juno, what should I do?’

I think I’m going to make your only family unhappy. As I was running towards the mansion with all my might, my legs tangled and I rolled on the ground.

Crash!

Blood streamed from my palm, torn by a stone.

“Ouch…”

I forcibly stood up on my two legs and walked forward. Endlessly, even though I knew it wasn’t a distance I could walk.

As I walked, my head and body grew heavier.

“Grand Princess?”

Sen, who was in front of the mansion, worried about me, called out in a surprised voice. I used my last strength to hug her waist.

“What’s this! You have a fever!”

“Sen. It’s not me.”

“You were fine just this morning. How did this happen?”

“Sen… listen.”

I’m not the princess or anything. Out of my greed, I’ve been deceiving you all until now. Even as I tried to speak, only wheezing breaths came out.

Reflected in Sen’s eyes, distorted with worry, I looked terrified.

“It’s okay! I’ll somehow…”

That’s enough now.

It might be better for everyone if I close my eyes now and never wake up. Then I won’t hurt Stephanie either.

‘It was wrong from the start.’

I shouldn’t have tried to live, held back by Juno’s last wish for me to be happy. I didn’t have the courage to reveal the truth to Stephanie.

That I was enjoying all this, mistaken for her daughter, Princess Juno.

‘Goodbye, everyone.’

Murmuring a farewell that would never be delivered, I sank into a deep nightmare. A sense of helplessness that left me unable to move a finger weighed me down.

Amidst my fading consciousness, I heard the voices of the Grand Duke and the maids alternating.

“What do you mean something’s wrong with the child?”

“The Grand Princess has a fever and is unconscious!”

“The doctor?”

“They say he’s on his way now!”

The person who picked me up urgently rubbed my heated cheeks. The Grand Duke’s unique fresh scent, reminiscent of the forest, wafted past my nose.

The fingers of the one who seemed unshakeable by anything were trembling miserably.